


The Truth

by NicolexoN



Series: Sweet Thing [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Getting Back Together, Happy Ending, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29573862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicolexoN/pseuds/NicolexoN
Summary: A surprise twist of events brings Bruce face-to-face with the man who viciously broke his heart six years ago, the only problem is Bruce never got around to informing the man of their lovechild's existence.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Sweet Thing [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172678
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to Sweet Thing, can be read as a standalone fic - first installment is briefly explained.

Bruce lifted a hand to hold onto the railing as the subway tilted to the left, his eyes not leaving his book as he read through the practice situation that would more than likely be on the bar exam _._

_Is A liable for conspiracy to commit larceny? Explain, applying only common law, but do_ not _analyze B’s liability, do_ not _apply the Model Penal Code, and do_ not analyze A’s liability for any other crime.

Bruce _hmm’d_ , brain already providing multiple arguments for cross proving that A is definitely liable for conspiracy due to the premeditated nature of the crime. 

As he was diving further into his explanation of the hypothetical situation, there was a tap to his shoulder that pulled him from his musings.

Bruce glanced over in the direction of the touch and saw a handsome, dark skinned man smiling softly at him. Bruce thought he may have seen him before, but wasn’t entirely too sure.

He snapped his book closed and tucked it under his arm, free hand moving up to yank the earbud from the ear facing the stranger.

“Yes?” He asked, curious to find out what the man wanted.

The man grinned, displaying perfectly straight, white teeth, making him even more attractive. Bruce did an obvious up and down scope of the man, taking in his well put together appearance.

“I see you reading your law books everyday and wanted to introduce myself,” the man said, confidence clear in his tone. He offered a hand out to Bruce for a handshake, which Bruce accepted, taking note of the well manicured nails and soft skin. “I’m Elijah, what’s your name, gorgeous?”

Bruce felt his face heat up slightly at the compliment from such an attractive man, he offered his own small smile. “Bruce.”

“Nice to meet you, Bruce,” Elijah said to which Bruce gave a nod; the man continued. “I’d like to take you on a date this weekend.”

The man still hadn’t let go of his hand and for that Bruce blushed a little harder. As often as Darcy told him he was too hot to be single, dating just wasn’t something Bruce had time for.

Bruce laughed softly and gave the man another small smile. “I’m flattered, really. And you’re extremely handsome, but I’m a full time student in my last semester of law school and I have a five year old son. It wouldn’t be fair to start something when I have no extra time.”

The man’s smile did not dim as he brought Bruce’s hand up to his lips and placed a light kiss on the shorter man’s knuckles. “I know you just let me down gently, but your honesty makes me want to keep trying.”

Bruce chuckled and leaned up on his tiptoes to gift the man a light kiss on the cheek just as the subway announced it had arrived at Bruce’s stop. “That’s certainly your prerogative; this is my stop.”

Elijah continued to smile as he slowly let Bruce’s hand go.

“Until next time,” he said simply and Bruce nodded and moved closer to the door. 

He turned back right as the doors slid open and smirked. “Until next time.”

***

“Well, look who’s back from the dead.”

Bruce’s head snapped up from his law book, shock and alarm coursing through his body at the familiar voice. 

He locked eyes with Tony Stark as the man leaned against his apartment door, arms crossed and expression angry.

Bruce’s feet stopped moving as he stared at the man he once considered his best friend.

He hadn’t seen him in almost six years, not from lack of effort on Tony’s part. Two weeks before the end of their summer internship at Asgard Corporation, Bruce completely disappeared from the life he had built. 

Shame and despair caused him to flee and cut all ties he had with that world. 

Tony called and texted an infinite amount of times the first two months following his departure and even went to his old apartment a few times, as his previous landlord informed him.

Eventually Bruce canceled his phone number all together and switched companies, not providing the new number to anyone for quite some time.

“Tony, what- how-“ Bruce struggled to articulate his thoughts, shocked at seeing a face he resigned to never laying eyes on again.

The man sneered and pushed away from the door. “I’m great Bruce, the past _six years_ have been totally awesome. Except, y’know, my _best friend_ ditched me and completely vanished from the face of the fucking Earth.”

Bruce’s heart clenched painfully, knowing the amount of hurt Tony must still be harboring for him to be openly contemptuous towards him. He couldn’t tell him exactly why he had disappeared but he also couldn’t just leave things as they were. Bruce gulped at the intense glare being sent his way and resolved to at least invite Tony in to keep his neighbors from hearing their conversation.

“I-I, um,” Bruce motioned to the door and Tony took a step back so he could unlock the door. 

“You can come in,” Bruce said softly as he pushed the door open and walked inside.

Bruce tossed his keys into the entryway bowl and stepped further into the apartment to lay down his book and messenger bag. He heard the door click close and Tony’s footsteps following him.

Once he emptied his hands of his school belongings and shucked off his jacket, laying it on the back of the couch, he turned back to face Tony with an unbelievably guilty expression.

They stood in uncomfortable silence for a long stretch of time, Bruce not knowing what to say and Tony not knowing what to say _first._

Bruce cleared his throat, hands wringing the hem of his shirt. “Would you, um, like some tea?”

Tony, who was gazing around the apartment with confusion, eventually looked to Bruce, expression unreadable. 

“Sure,” he said tightly and then moved to take a seat at the island while Bruce walked towards the stove of his open kitchen.

Bruce put the kettle on and cranked on the heat of the eye, resting his hands on the counter and allowing his head to drop.

“What are you doing here, Tony?” He asked softly, not having the courage to turn and face the man right at this moment.

He listened as the bar stool scraped light against the wooden floor of the kitchen and the slight shuffling of Tony getting comfortable in the seat.

“Your name came up during one of my father’s business meetings. A lawyer, Trevor Langan, shared that you’re one of his brightest and most promising students,” Tony said, tone even as he didn’t bother to answer Bruce’s question.

Bruce huffed and turned around to finally face his ex-best friend. “But why are you _here_ , Anthony?”

The man raised an eyebrow, not bothered by the other man first-naming him just as he hadn’t been in the past. He rested his head on his palm, staring intently at Bruce.

“I may have hacked into Columbia’s files and got your address,” Tony admitted, though no shame was found in his voice. “I stopped looking for you a year after you disappeared and suddenly you’re a _promising student_ at the best law school in New York.”

Bruce allowed himself to be grateful for the fact that Tony restrained himself from physically using air quotations as he would have done, without missing a beat, six years ago.

“And funnily enough, you don’t have any current employment history,” The man continued, fiddling with the salt shaker on the island. “Looked into that too.”

The shorter male flinched in surprise as the kettle whistled loudly behind him. He turned to remove it from the eye and grabbed two mugs from the carousel. Bruce moved around the kitchen quietly, not answering the question Tony was asking without actually voicing the words. 

He deposited the mugs and tea bag-filled canister on the island, and returned with the kettle, filling their mugs to the top before bringing the kettle back to the stove.

Without speaking Bruce fixed his tea and kept his eyes down to avoid Tony’s gaze. Soon enough Tony followed suit, steeping a tea bag into his steaming water and dropped a sugar cube into the mug. He picked up the spoon Bruce placed near his mug and stirred his tea.

“Honey? Milk?” Bruce offered awkwardly, not liking the additional sweetness in his own tea so he usually never took the items out.

“No, thanks.” 

They lapsed into silence again, Bruce leaning against the far end of the island and Tony sitting stiffly on the middle bar stool.

Bruce didn’t know what to do. He wanted to offer the man _some_ kind of explanation, but knew he couldn’t do that without revealing the entirety of the situation. Tony needed to leave before his son made it home from school with his nanny and Bruce wasn’t sure how to accomplish that.

“How much does this spot run you? Five thousand? Six thousand monthly?”

Bruce clenched his jaw, tightening the hold on his mug at Tony’s flippant tone.

“I mean, you don’t have a job but, like I said, you go to the best law school in the state and you live in this nice ass apartment.” 

Bruce took a deep breath to try and avoid losing his temper with Tony. He fully understood that the man was upset with him and instead of repeatedly asking _why_ Bruce left him, he’s choosing to pick at the man in hopes of making Bruce feel just as bad as he did.

“Is it drugs? I mean, with an innocent little face like yours no one would think you were moving weight.” Tony laughed a cruel laugh and sat his mug down, not even having taken a sip. “Or is it prostitution? The whole blushing virgin routine would definitely rake in the cash.”

“Fucking _stop it,_ Tony,” Bruce snarled and looked up to glare at the other man, refusing to let him continue to make such baseless accusations and assault his character any further.

“ _You_ fucking stop it, Bruce.” Tony barked, harshly slapping a palm against the island. “How the fuck do you afford all of this and where in the _hell have you been?!”_

Bruce’s mug made a loud _thump_ against the marble island and he brought his hands up to cover his face and stop himself from engaging in a screaming match with Tony.

Bruce forced a few deep breaths and counted backwards from twenty to calm his raging heart beat.

When he was sure he wouldn’t flat out lose it and start swearing and calling Tony out of his name, he removed his hands from his face and looked at the other male with a blank expression.

“I can’t-“

“Can’t or _won’t,_ Bruce?” Tony interrupted, looking furious and ready to get up and stomp out of Bruce’s life, to hell with getting an explanation.

And Bruce honestly contemplated letting him just to stop this confrontation from continuing.

He opened his mouth to tell the man that he didn’t have to answer any inquiries and _wouldn’t_ be questioned any further when he heard a key twisting in the lock of his front door, moments before the cheerful voice of his son sounded throughout the silent apartment.

“Daddy, I’m home! Darcy got me a churro but I’m not supposed to tell you!”

He heard the telltale sound of the boy’s jacket, bookbag and shoes being tossed carelessly in the entryway.

Moments later a small body bounded full speed into Bruce, wrapping short arms around his waist.

“I missed you, daddy!”

All anger at Tony instantly evaporated and was replaced with intense love and affection for his little boy. Bruce laughed and hauled his son up for a cuddle.

“I missed you too, monkey,” His son nuzzled into Bruce’s neck, arms and legs moving to circle his father, resembling the animal he was nicknamed after.

He smiled softly at Darcy as she leaned against the wall of the kitchen and she smirked back, eyebrows asking who the other man in the kitchen was. Bruce rolled his eyes and mouthed _later_ , before giving his son attention.

“Did you have a good day at school, sweet boy?” He asked, dropping kisses onto the messy brunet locs. 

The boy pulled back, grinning at his daddy. “Yeah, we finger painted and I learned all my letters and we had chicken nuggets for lunch and I went on the swing at recess and and -“

Bruce chuckled, his son’s enthusiasm for school always made him ecstatic.”Breath, Theo.”

The boy opened his mouth wide to suck in a deep breath and then finally took notice of the stranger sitting shell shocked in his kitchen.

Theo’s eyes widened and he smiled his hundred-watt smile. The young boy was always happy to make a new friend and didn’t have a shy bone in his body. He waved excitedly at Tony. “Hi! I’m Theodore James Banner and I’m five!”

Tony’s mouth opened and closed a few times, struggling to understand the situation. “H-hiya, kid. I’m Tony.”

“How many are you, Mr. Tony?” The boy inquired, hanging off his father to get a better look at Tony.

“ _How old_ are you, Theo.” Bruce corrected softly, turning to sit the boy on the counter so he didn’t topple out of his arms.

“How old are you, Mr. Tony?” Theo repeated impatiently, already exasperated with having to repeat himself, as he wiggled on his knees.

“I’m twenty-seven, kid.” Tony answered awkwardly, wide eyes trying to catch Bruce’s gaze for an explanation.

“I can count that many!” Theo assures him and barely sucked in a breath before he began demonstrating his counting abilities. “One, two, three, four, five - that’s how many I am! - six, seven -“

Bruce snorted, scooping up his hyperactive son and attacking his cheeks with kisses. The boy allowed himself to be distracted by his silly daddy and erupted in squeals. “That tickles, daddy!”

The man held his little boy in a cradle, ceasing his kiss attack. “You can count for Mr. Tony later, why don’t you go play with Darcy while daddy talks with his friend?”

“We can play superheros,” Darcy supplied as she pushed off of the wall, understanding that Bruce needed a moment with this man without the ramblings of his sugar-stuffed kid.

“Only if I can be Captain America this time, Darcy!” The boy demanded, wiggling in his father’s arms. Bruce lowered the squirming boy to the ground, ruffling his hair.

“Oldest gets to pick first,” Darcy teased, making her way to the boy’s room, sparing Tony a polite nod.

“Not if I get there first!” He screamed and then tore out of the kitchen behind his nanny.

Bruce looked after his little boy for a few moments, a soft smile on his face as he thought of how blessed he was to have Theo in his life.

“What the _fu_ \- heck, Bruce?” Tony hissed, barely able to stop the curse from slipping past his lips and cases a panicked glance down the hallway to ensure Theo wasn’t within earshot. 

Bruce sighed, knowing there was no way to get around this now, and made his way to occupy the stool next to Tony.

“My son, Theo.” Bruce said, reaching across the island to slide his forgotten tea to him.

Tony gapped at his friend and then blindly reached for his own tea, just for something to do. He needed to process this, the last time he saw Bruce the man _definitely_ didn’t look pregnant. But … Jesus Christ, he needed a drink.

The boy’s blue eyes looked extremely familiar and it only takes Tony a few seconds to piece together _why_ that is.

“He looks like -“ Tony started, treading lightly because _what the fuck._

“He’s Thor’s son,” Bruce shares reluctantly, the phrase sounding foreign to his ears, which makes sense since this is the first time it has passed his lips. 

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Tony mumbled and took a big gulp of his tea to try and keep it together. The lemongrass and ginger flavored water did nothing for his racing mind.

He looked over at Bruce, the man having already been watching Tony’s reaction calmly as he sipped his own tea. Tony offered a small smile. Now that it was clear _he_ hadn’t been the reason for Bruce’s disappearance, the man wasn’t nearly as upset - if at all. “Got anything stronger than tea?”

Bruce snorted, gently placing his cup down to get up and grab the bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the cabinet above the sink along with two shot glasses.

“God, you and fucking whiskey are inseparable.” Tony grinned, glad that some parts of the man he was friends with hadn’t changed in the slightest.

Once they got the taste of liquor in their systems (Bruce’s one shot versus Tony’s four), the billionaire started with his tentative questions.

“Does Thor know?”

“No,” Bruce admitted softly, back to nursing his tea. “I never got the chance to tell him.”

Tony’s brows furred, not understanding how that could be. The last he’d seen of his friend and Thor, they’d been happily involved, taking every opportunity to fuck each other’s brains out.

_On and off the clock_ , Tony’s memory supplied, recalling how he’d walked in on them more than once while delivering documents to the man in charge.

“I-“ Bruce broke off with a heavy sigh, expression miserable. “When I found out I went to his penthouse to tell him; security wouldn’t even let me in.”

“ _What_ , why?” Tony demanded, anger on the rise for his friend.

Bruce shrugged, eyes trained on his rapidly cooling tea. “Heimdall came to me in the office where they held me and said Thor didn’t want to _even see me_ , said he was committed to marrying Jane and didn’t want me to come around anymore.”

Bruce swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, knowing all too well how easily he cried just _thinking_ about this memory, nevermind speaking it out loud. He took a drink of his tea before continuing.

“He told me Thor’s number was being changed at that exact moment and he wanted our _affair_ to stay in the past.”

The word tasted bitter on his tongue, cheapening the relationship he and Thor shared. Or the relationship he _thought_ they shared.

“Heimdall shoved a check in my hand, with more zeros than I thought I’d see in my _lifetime_ , and threatened legal action if I ever showed up at Thor’s home or business again.”

Bruce laughed a humorless laugh, feeling just as _worthless_ and _pathetic_ as he had the day security escorted him out, faces indifferent to his gut-wrenching sobs.

Tony’s heart clenched in sympathy for his friend, never having thought in a million years that the man Bruce was so in love with would do something so hateful.

Bruce took a few deep breaths, blinking the tears away before they dared to fall. He took another long drink of his tea, just from habit at this point and continued. “My parents wanted nothing to do with me after I told them I was pregnant and they straight up _hated_ me when I told them I didn’t even know who the father was.”

“So I ran. I took the check and left everything behind.”

Tony got up from his chair and enveloped the hunched man in a fierce hug. Bruce stiffened in surprise, having expected Tony to react similarly to how his parents had. But soon relaxed into the hug, even turning in the embrace to hug the man back.

Tony didn’t think it was appropriate to remind Bruce that Thor was divorced now and should be pulling his weight with this whole parenthood thing. 

“I’m sorry I left you,” he whispered brokenly, tears finally escaping his eyes. “I wanted to call you so many times, but I was so _fucking embarrassed_ , Tony.”

Tony pulled out of the hug, eyes shining with his own tears. He glared at Bruce before speaking firmly. “You have _nothing_ to be embarrassed about. That dick stain is a piece of shit and I never should have pushed you to pursue him. God, I’m so sorry, Bruce.”

The billionaire pulled his best friend back into a tight hug, letting the younger man’s tears soak through the shoulder of his dress shirt. He continued whispering apologies and promises about how Bruce wasn’t _ever_ getting rid of him again.

The pair embraced for quite some time, breaking apart only when they heard Theo’s shrieking battlecry in the other room.

They both burst into laughter, letting the serious and emotional situation evaporate.

Bruce reached for a napkin on the island and dabbed at his now puffy eyes and red nose. “So what now?”

Tony raised an eyebrow and turned on his heels. “Now I solidify my place as _World’s Best Uncle_.”

Bruce snorted, watching his best friend happily strut down the hallway.

God, he missed that idiot.

***

Having Tony back in his life was a breath of fresh air. They’d quickly fallen back into their dynamic from the past, Tony being an annoying, impulsive brat and Bruce being the voice of reason.

_“No, Anthony. You cannot fire him because you do not like his choice of tie,” Bruce told the man firmly over the phone, stirring the pasta he was making for dinner._

_“Cancel it, Tony! Send it back,” Bruce hissed into the mic of his earbuds as he walked to his case law lecture. “Theo does not need a pony!”_

_“I don’t care if you own the jet and have a villa on the beachfront,” Bruce groaned, tossing his pen onto the stack of notes he was studying after putting Theo to bed. “I cannot just take off for a week with my kid and go to The Bahamas.”_

A pleasant surprise was that Tony had been dating the same man for the last six years. Bruce immediately recognized the man as the same person who _literally_ carried Bruce up to the stage to sing, at Tony’s request.

Steve Rogers was the perfect balance for his impulsive best friend. The man was an English professor at NYU and shared a place with Tony. Where Tony was quick to act, Steve thought things through. Tony’s inability to boil water went perfectly with Steve’s extensive knowledge in the kitchen. If Tony was peanut butter, Steve was jelly. Bruce couldn’t help the genuine friendship he and Steve formed within the first month of being reintroduced and they quickly formed an alliance against Tony when the man was in one of his moods.

And Theo absolutely adored his uncles, having become very used to seeing one if not both at least every other day. Steve was his favorite out of the three of them, being the only one tall enough to give _acceptable_ shoulder rides. Theo always loves sitting atop the tall man’s shoulders and often whined when he had to get down. 

Tony took to uncle-hood like a duck to water, quickly familiarizing the young boy with all of the classics - AC/DC was a crowd favorite and prompted Theo to request guitar lessons. 

The new additions to their little family were good for both Banners.

Oh, _God_.

Scratch that, Bruce takes everything he just said back.

“Anthony, I’m going to _murder_ you,” Bruce hissed into the phone, pacing the kitchen after sending Theodore to his room.

“Well, hello to you too, pumpkin-pie,” Tony greeted, not at all concerned with the threat. 

Bruce slapped a hand against the marble island in irritation. “ _What_ have you been teaching Theo?”

The other line was silent for a brief moment, as if Tony was trying to figure out _which_ life lesson Bruce was mad about, which sent Bruce’s irritation through the fucking roof.

“Okay,” The billionaire cleared his throat and spoke with a sheepish tone. “Whatever you think I did… I probably did do it.”

Bruce rubbed at his temples for a few seconds trying to calm the pulsing in his head. He snatched up the disciplinary note that had been slid into Theo’s take home folder.

“Theo got himself sent to the office today, Anthony. I’ll read this _verbatim_ . ‘Theodore was told he would receive three minutes on the swing during recess, as the play set was heavily sought after today and all the children wanted a turn. Once his three minutes were up, Miss. Romanoff informed him that his time had come to an end. Theodore refused to leave the swing and told his teacher: _My uncle Tony is a billionaire, I don’t have to share’.”_

Tony’s full-belly laughter sounded off on the other line. “That’s my boy!”

Bruce felt a smile tug at his lips, but was determined not to let Tony off the hook too easily.

“I’m telling Steve,” he announced, taking pleasure in the abrupt halt of laughter. 

“No!” Tony screeched, sounding genuinely panicked. “He won’t do that thing with his tongue-“

Bruce promptly hung up.

God, his best friend was _too_ much.

***

“I’m gonna fucking deck that motherfucker,” Tony viciously mumbled to his boyfriend as they were led to their table for the Mentoring USA charity gala.

He hadn’t even wanted to come to this stupid shit, content with writing a check and sticking it in the mail. But _no_ , he just had to be dating a teacher who genuinely loved children and wanted to show his support by attending this stuffy party.

What Tony failed to realize until he walked in the door, was that _this_ very charity was overseen by the same motherfucker who abandoned his best friend and made him a single parent at twenty years old.

Tony had been ready to throw down right then and there, eyes scanning the sea of faces for the only one he wanted to kick in. But, his _rational_ other half quickly reminded him how much Bruce would _not_ appreciate Tony getting thrown into jail - or worse pummeled by Thor.

Which, okay, yeah, the dude is _stupid ripped,_ but Jesus sacrificed his body for a good reason and damnit, Tony would too.

Well, no. If that motherfucker even lifted a finger to the billionaire, _Tony’s_ ripped blond would fuck Thor’s shit up.

The thought immediately sent a wave of arousal through Tony and he leaned up to whisper all the nasty things he wanted to do with his boyfriend when they got home. The flushed neck of his man showed exactly how much he’d like that.

“You will _not_ start an altercation with Thor,” Steve said in a firm tone, leading them further into the ballroom to mingle. Well, Steve was going to mingle, Tony was going to cling to the man and see just how many inappropriate touches he could get away with.

Under the watchful eye of Steve, Tony was kept at least ten feet away from Thor the majority of the evening. When they were escorted back to their seats to start the dinner portion of the night Tony was able to slip away ‘to go to the bathroom’, which he actually did need to pee.

And who does he run into when he walks out of the stall?

Thor bitch-ass Odinson.

“Good evening, Mr. Stark.” The man greeted, a polite smile on his face as he moved to walk past Tony.

“Suck a dick,” Tony hissed at his back, thinking it was said low enough to not be picked up by the blond tank.

It was not.

A shocked Thor quickly spun on his heels to face Tony, polite smile having been replaced with a tense expression.

“Have I offended you?” He asked through clenched teeth, hands flexing at his side.

Tony briefly toyed with the idea of laughing it off and sprinting out of the bathroom to the protection of his boyfriend. But fuck that.

Tony glared right at the man. “Yeah, you have offended me, Goldilocks.”

Thor took three large steps into Tony’s space, purposefully towering over the billionaire. The intensity of icy blue eyes was almost enough to make Tony cower, but he held his ground.

“My name is _Thor_ , it would behoove you to remember that, Mr. Stark,” the man growled.

Tony took a step back, giving the giant his own glare. “I’m not scared of some spineless prick who doesn’t even have the decency to break up with someone himself.”

Thor gave him an incredulous look as some of the tension in his body relaxed, apparently deciding that Tony wasn’t a threat.

Which was _so_ rude.

“We’ve never engaged in such a relationship, Mr. Stark,” he said and then had the nerve to _laugh_ in Tony’s face.

Unfortunately, when Tony gets angry his mouth takes on a mind of its own.

“I’d never fuck a low-life like you,” he spat at the man, happy the jerk’s eyes narrowed in anger at his words. “I’m talking about _Bruce_.”

And the second the words left his mouth, he desperately wanted to take them back. He watched helplessly as realization crossed the blond’s face and then the glare was back. “You know _nothing_ about the ending of my relationship with Bruce Banner. Mind your tongue.”

Tony took a step closer to the man, hoping all 5’10 of him managed to be somewhat intimidating. He reached out to poke roughly at the firm chest. “I know you sent your bodyguard to break up with him and then threw some _hush money_ at him like he was some fucking prostitute!”

Thor’s anger slowly melted to confusion, which in turn confused Tony. Did this motherfucker not have the ability to comprehend the language he was speaking? Tony spoke five languages and was more than willing to cuss him out in each and every one.

“Bruce broke up with _me,_ ” the man said, voice straining with emotion. “I don’t know anything about hush money.”

Oh, he thinks Tony’s a goddamn idiot. Game recognize game.

Tony chuckled, folded his arms and gave the man an unimpressed look. “You had Heimdall threaten him, give him a multi-million dollar check, and then escort him out of your building. Ringing a bell, Point Break?”

Thor’s face went through a myriad of emotions, none of which sitting well with Tony. Either this guy should break into acting or he actually didn’t know what the hell Tony was talking about.

_Please let him be acting,_ Tony thought desperately. 

“I have to go,” Thor mumbled, distraction clear as he stumbled out of the bathroom, leaving Tony to glance around aimlessly, unsure of what to do now. Usually _he_ was the one storming off after an argument, the last word always had to be his.

“Yeah, you better run!” He called out in the now empty bathroom and popped his collar.

“I fucking showed him,” he mumbled, moving over to wash his hands and quickly get back to Steve.

“You were gone a while,” Steve commented upon his return, cutting into his steak.

Tony forced a laugh, not wanting to inform Steve of the very big, possibly catastrophic, fuck up he just made. “Long line, my love.” 

Steve _hmmm_ ’d, but let the subject drop. “I ordered your steak medium rare, and your potatoes without chives.”

Tony grinned, always falling a little more in love when Steve did small things like this, showing how well he’d come to know Tony.

The billionaire leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, babe.”

Steve flashed him a grin of his own, making the butterflies in Tony’s stomach act up.

Oh, he was so in love with this man.

They tucked in just as the host for the evening sauntered up to the podium to briefly announce the speaker for the night.

Tony scowled at the thought of having to listen to Thor’s fake ass talk about how _charitable_ he was when Tony knew the truth. The praise from the host grated on Tony’s nerve with every lie that passed his lips. _Why_ couldn’t anyone else see Thor for the fraud he was? If he wasn’t sure that Steve would yell at him, Tony would hop on stage and expose Thor right this second.

“Enough with my rambling, please welcome Thor Odinson.”

The ballroom clapped politely at the introduction, all except Tony who viciously ripped the sliver of meat off of his fork with his teeth, gaining an eye roll from his boyfriend who then went back to his own food.

The ballroom applause faded out in scattered sections as the host stood on the stage, Thor not in sight.

“ _Thor Odinson_ ,” the host repeated again, nervousness apparent.

Tony paused, keeping his eyes to his plate as he swallowed the mouthful of meat. He didn’t need to look up to know Steve was looking at him.

“Mr. Odinson, please come to the stage.”

Tony bit his lip, eyes squeezed shut as gossip-filled whispered spread through the ballroom.

Thor just went to another bathroom because he was scared of Tony. Yeah, that’s it. He'll come rushing up to the stage in a second with apologises for his tardiness.

Maybe like five seconds.

Tony slowly counted down to one-Mississippi in his head.

Twice.

No sign of Thor.

Oh, God. Bruce might actually murder him. Oh, God.

He chanced a glance at Steve; the man was calmly cutting his steak and then popped a slice of meat into his mouth. He chewed slowly, thoroughly pulverizing the meat before swallowing and dabbing his mouth with his napkin.

“Fix it,” he said simply, not looking at Tony as he forked some mashed potatoes into his mouth and chewed slowly.

“What makes you think _I_ did something?” Tony hissed, indignation clear in his tone as he sat his cutlery down and straightened up to fold his arms.

Steve did not look at him as he began cutting another sliver of meat. “ _Fix it.”_

Tony groaned and pushed away from the table, grabbing his cellphone. “ _Okay_ , fine, jeez.”

***

Bruce was cuddling his sweet boy on the couch as they watched The Emperor's New Groove, a Banner household favorite. Theo had watched the movie more than enough times to recite the dialogue from start to finish and Bruce found it utterly adorable when his little voice would change to match the different characters.

“Pull the lever, Kronk,” he said in a nasally imitation of Yzma. “Wrong lever!” 

Bruce grinned as his son dissolved into giggles as Yzma fell through a trapdoor, the appeal of the movie never going away. Theo burrowed further into his father as he continued to recite the movie’s dialogue.

“Why do we even _have_ that lever?” The boy demanded, still imitating Yzma. “Get out of my way!”

Bruce sunk more into the couch, always loving these calm moments with his baby. Tonight they’d decided on a Disney movie marathon with pizza for dinner and fruit for dessert.

And tomorrow? Bruce planned on surprising his son with a trip to the zoo. Following the little hiccup at school, Bruce sat his sweet boy down and explained that even though uncle Tony said those kinds of things, it did not mean that Theo could repeat them at school. He made sure to stress the importance of following the rules at school and respecting his teachers. The boy apologized for his behavior and was a perfect angel the entire week that followed.

And thus, the trip to the zoo.

The doorbell rang just as Yzma and Kronk began plotting on how to get rid of Kuzco, sending Theo into an excited frenzy.

Theo shot up to jump on the couch, chanting in earnest. “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!”

Bruce snorted, unfolding himself from the couch to feed the Pizza God. He made sure to caution his son against jumping too high and to avoid falling off the couch and breaking his neck, the only response he got was louder chanting.

Bruce made his way to the entryway, hoping he remembered to put his wallet in the entryway bowl so he could quickly pay the delivery person. He paused briefly when his phone began screeching AC/DC’s Back in Black, signaling that Tony was calling him.

“Theo, answer dad’s phone, it’s uncle Tony!” He called over his shoulder and he continued into the entryway. 

He chuckled softly when he heard his son enthusiastically answer the call with a “when are you coming over, uncle Tony”.

He spotted the leather wallet Tony randomly gifted him while demanding he replace his old one with the _shiny, expensive new one_ laying in the entryway _Important Stuff_ bowl and snatched it up.

He pulled the door open as he flipped his wallet open to give him access to the cash inside. “Hey, sorry for the wait, how much was it, again?”

Bruce was thumbing through the various bills in his wallet, thinking the total was somewhere around twenty-five dollars.

“Bruce,” a soft voice said, causing the man’s head to snap up from the familiarity.

Expressive brown eyes met cerulean blue ones for the first time in six years. Flashes of intimate memories and stolen moments vividly assaulted him. Sneaky kisses and lusty groans in the elevator; breathy moans and passionate climaxes tangled in silk sheets.

Heartbreak and tears painting the New York streets.

Bruce’s heart stopped in his chest, the arm holding his wallet falling limp at his side. He stared in shock at the _father of his child_ , unable to process the situation at this moment _._ He vaguely heard little bare feet padding towards him, brain refusing to send warnings to his body.

“Uncle Tony wants to talk,” His son said from where he stopped at his hip, Bruce’s cellphone outstretched for his father to take. “He said it’s _super_ important.”

The small boy gazed up at the person at the door; twin sets of blue eyes met. The boy looked at the stranger who certainly did not have pizza in his hands and frowned. “Hey, where’s my pizza!”

Bruce snapped out of his stupor, immediately slamming the door closed and locking it before Thor could begin to question him, then plucked the phone from his confused son’s hands.

“Tony, _what did you do?!”_ He hissed into the phone, panic skyrocketing as his doorbell began ringing.

“Who’s that man?” Theo demanded, looking suspiciously at his dad.

“I can explain!” Tony promised.

Bruce felt faint.

***

Bruce groaned when he regained consciousness the next morning, yesterday’s events slamming to the forefront of his mind, making the hangover ten times worse.

Once he finished berating Tony in child-friendly terms he promptly hung up on the sputtering man and shooed his son into the living room, gaining a glare from his mini-me.

The boy went reluctantly only because his favorite scene of the movie was coming up.

The doorbell had been ringing non-stop and was accompanied by insistent knocking. Bruce’s heart hadn’t stopped beating furiously since the brief reunion he and Thor shared.

The man’s desperate pleas travelled to his ears, drastically muffled by the thickness of his front door. He begged for Bruce to open the door and _talk_ to him; demanded to know why the little boy had the same eyes as him.

Bruce leaned against the wall, trying desperately to keep his tears from falling, not understanding why Tony would _do_ this to him.

To Theo.

When Bruce was finally able to get a grip, he told Thor firmly that he needed to leave _now_ or the police would be called. He shakily pulled up his phone and dialed the number, one hundred percent willing to press the green call button if his directions weren’t followed. The doorbell and the knocking ceased, as did Thor’s pleas, and soon the only sound that could be heard was Theo’s movie in the background.

Bruce waited a full five minutes, hand clutching his phone and stared at the door; praying that Thor really left and wouldn’t return.

He jumped in shock when the doorbell rang again, only this time it was accompanied by an unknown voice informing him his pizza was here. Bruce opened the door slowly, poking his head out to look to the left and right, ensuring that Thor wasn’t lurking. The pizza deliverer looked at him with a confused expression, which Bruce did not care about or comment on as he shoved a couple bills in the teen’s hand, grabbed his pizza and quickly closed the door without so much as a thank you.

He was extremely grateful that his son was distracted by the pizza and movie, avoiding any uncomfortable questions that Bruce knew he wouldn’t be able to answer.

Once Theo was stuffed and dozing off in his own bed, Bruce got thoroughly reacquainted with Jack Daniels, tossing back shots faster than he could refill the glass. After ignoring four of Tony’s phone calls and nine of his texts, Bruce eventually shut his phone off all together and wallowed in his despair, drinking until he blacked out.

“Oh, God,” he moaned, slumped against the kitchen island as he nursed a glass of water and laid his head against the cold marble to help sooth his pounding head.

When he remembered to turn his phone back on, Bruce squeezed his eyes shut in pain as the phone chimed over and over; his missed call notifications and texts hurried to make themselves known.

He ignored every single one with Tony’s name attached to it, scrolling to open the single text from Steve.

_My boyfriend is an idiot, but he means well. Take your time - hope you’re both OK._

_\- S_

He quickly shot the man a response, ensuring they were both fine and would be going to the zoo today. Bruce was going to swallow the maximum amount of headache pills the bottle said he could and down a cup of coffee before starting on his and Theo’s breakfast. 

Thor could go to hell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got kind of long, broke it up into two parts. (:

Bruce was so thankful (and a bit disappointed, if he’s being honest) that Thor did not show his face the remainder of the weekend. He and Theo were able to enjoy the zoo on Saturday as well as the park on Sunday, undisturbed. He did take extra precaution and informed Darcy that if a man fitting Thor’s description came up to her and Theo, she should immediately pepper spray the bastard and leave. And Darcy, bless her heart, was extremely excited about being given the green light to hurt someone.

So Bruce forced himself to relax, going to school as per his usual Monday through Friday routine, efficiently winning his mock trial and also acing a pop quiz on the reading material assigned over the weekend.

He entirely put Thor out of his mind as he stepped on the subway after school the following Monday, earbuds in place and a book covering his face as he started that night’s reading.

Bruce was fully submerged in the Donoghue v. Stevenson case for a tort law example as he leaned against a pole on the busy subway, wrapping an arm around to steady himself as the ride commenced. He grimaced when he got to the passage about a snail pouring out of a bottle of ginger beer that the woman had already begun drinking from, stomach turning from the mere _thought_ of being in that situation. 

A tap to his shoulder yanked him out of his reading, and for once, Bruce was grateful. He looked over and smiled in amusement as Elijah’s grinning face came into his line of vision. He closed his book, slipping it into his bag and yanked an earbud out.

“Hi,” he greeted softly, a shy smile on his face as he turned to face the man.

“I’m going to ask you out again,” the man said, the same confident tone as the first time they spoke.

Bruce laughed, honesty thinking of accepting a date with this beyond handsome stranger. “A man of your word,” he teased, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

The subway jerked then, causing a surprised Elijah to reach out and grab the same pole Bruce was holding onto as someone knocked into him from behind. 

Bruce got a nose full of the man’s masculine cologne as he was suddenly an inch away from Elijah’s clavicle and almost audibly groaned. He looked up into deep brown eyes, lust intensely pooling in his stomach at the smirking face he saw.

“This weekend,” the man said, leaning down as if to kiss Bruce.

And Bruce was going to let the man claim his lips, turned on by the flirtation and attention he was being showered with. He opened his mouth to agree to a date right when Elijah’s hand was suddenly jerked from it’s position above Bruce on the pole and was violently shoved away from the shorter man.

“He’s not going anywhere with you,” a hard voice spat at Elijah’s stumbling form.

Bruce’s head snapped to the side in shock, anger coursing through his veins.

“Thor, what’re you _doing_ ?” He hissed at the man, unable to process why he was _here_ at this exact moment.

“Hey, man, what’s your fucking problem?” Elijah snarled, now steady on his feet and looking fit to kill.

“I’m rejecting your offer on his behalf,” Thor said simply, tone leaving no room for argument.

Bruce gapped at the man, baffled by the overwhelming audacity Thor had. He glared and slapped the man’s arm, knowing it probably didn’t even register.

“Are you _following_ me?” He snapped, eyes ablaze as he turned, ready to berate Thor in front of all of the staring passengers.

“Do you know him?” Elijah demanded, taking a step closer to Bruce and Thor, seeming ready to take the blond down at Bruce’s word.

Before Bruce could lie and say _no_ he didn’t know this creep, Thor answered for him.

“He carried _my child_ ,” he informed Elijah, taking pleasure in the surprised expression the other man adopted. “I’d say he knows me pretty well.”

Bruce’s mouth fell open, desperate to get away from the man who had so easily put two and two together after getting a glimpse at Theodore. Thor made things worse by wrapping an arm around Bruce’s shoulder, pulling the father of his child snug against his side, and smirking at Elijah, obviously taunting the other man.

“Thor, get _off_ of me,” Bruce spat and twisted to shove the man’s offending appendage off of his person. 

The subway slid to a stop and Thor grabbed Bruce’s arm, yanking the smaller man behind him as he exited, he even took the time to throw another smirk at Elijah before the doors slid closed and carried the stumped man away from them.

As the roaring of the subway died down following its departure, Bruce began trying to yank his wrist out of Thor’s grip, only succeeding in tiring himself out. Thor began stalking up the stairs leading to the busy streets of New York paying no attention to the stares he was receiving nor did he pay mind to Bruce’s struggling and hissed demands to be let go.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and thumbed a number into the device before bringing it to his ear. Thor quickly and firmly shared his location and requested his car make its way to him _now_.

“Thor, I’m going _home_ , let me go,” Bruce said sharply, beyond irritated that none of these bystanders made a move to help him or even inquire if he was being kidnapped.

Assholes.

The blond did not respond to him, he only continued up the stairs and out onto the sidewalk. Bruce used his free hand to grab onto the first traffic light they passed, finally halting Thor’s steps.

“ _Stop,_ Thor.” He said once the man turned to look at him with annoyance, like _Bruce_ was the one out of line here.

“Let the pole go, Bruce.” He said sharply, tightening his grip around the wrist in his grasp.

“You let me go first,” Bruce countered, glaring into icy blue eyes, unwavering.

Thor moved to crowd Bruce against the pole, still uncaring of the looks they were getting for their theatrics. “Let the pole go before I embarrass you.”

Bruce bristled at the threat, wanting nothing more than to slap the other man. He knew Thor would never _physically_ hurt him, so he had no idea what the man was even referring to. Bruce stood his ground, tightening his hold on the pole and glaring defiantly up at the taller man. Thor clenched his jaw, seeming to gift Bruce with a few moments to _come to his senses_. 

When the man did not release the pole Thor reached out and roughly yanked his hand from the cool metal. Before Bruce had a chance to even think about yelling profanities at the man, he found himself slung over Thor’s shoulder.

“Thor, put me down! What the _fuck,_ ” he screamed and began pounding on the broad back of his son’s father. 

Bruce’s screaming and assault continued for a few minutes before he _actually_ came to his senses and felt _embarrassed_ by the judgemental stares being sent _his_ way instead of at the man _kidnapping him._ Eventually Thor stopped beside a black Escalade and he pulled Bruce from over his shoulder, holding him in a cradle. If Bruce wasn’t so _livid_ , he’d laugh at the fact that he often holds Theo just like this.

He was placed on his feet, Thor standing in front of him and the vehicle’s door to his back. If the taller man’s arm wasn’t blocking him from escaping he would have done so.

“Get in the car.”

“Or _what?”_ Bruce spat at the man, arms crossed as he resumed glaring at the man. The pair stood staring at each other for a few moments, neither one of them willing to look away first. 

Then, Thor’s stony expression morphed into one of exhaustion. “ _Please_ , Bruce.”

Bruce continued looking at the man, no longer intensely glaring, just _looking_. The man’s usually bright eyes were dull, bags prominent under his eyes, stubble well on it’s way to forming a beard and hair falling out of an already messy ponytail. The man looked defeated and even if it shouldn’t, the sight caused Bruce’s heart to clench painfully.

He turned away from Thor and reluctantly climbed into the vehicle, the other man sliding in after him. Bruce folded his arms and looked out of the window. He didn’t even react when Thor instructed his driver to take them to his penthouse.

The next twenty minutes were tense and silent as they drove through the city, eventually stopping at an unfamiliar building. Had Bruce been speaking to Thor, he’d comment on the fact that the man moved from his last penthouse, a place he claimed to never want to leave. Though, maybe it’s good he didn’t say anything. Because he would’ve immediately followed up with a scathing comment about how he obviously hadn’t been _that_ attached to the building, since he tossed it aside much like he had Bruce.

He thanked the driver softly as the man opened his door and before the older man even finished assuring Bruce it was nothing, Thor was at his side, grabbing his arm and dragging him into the building and to the elevator, stepping inside and jabbing the Penthouse button.

Bruce did not want Thor touching him and said as much. Though he spoke softly, it resonated in the elevator only containing the two of them. The man removed his hand from Bruce’s arm, not sparing a glance in his direction as they continued their ascent to the top floor.

When Thor used his electronic key to open the front door of his penthouse and held it open for Bruce to enter, the shorter man had to grip his bag tightly to stop himself from audibly gasping.

The foyer was impeccable. 

The pristine, white tiles complimented the stark white walls, priceless looking art hung tastefully around the entryway. He took in the beautiful sunset hanging above the expansive, plush bench; he marveled at the detailed seascape adjacent to the spiral staircase. Then, Bruce’s eyes were drawn to an incredible replica of Café Terrace at Night hanging above the fireplace. His feet took on a mind of their own, pulling him closer to the painting, eyes wide in fascination.

He didn’t dare reach a hand out to touch the masterpiece. “This looks exactly like the original,” he murmured, astonishment clear in his voice.

“It should,” Thor said, sounding a little amused, closing the door behind him and standing to watch Bruce. “I purchased the original.”

Bruce gasped lightly, taking in the beautiful scenery painted by Vincent Van Gogh, eyes sparkling. “This is my favorite work of his,” he whispered, unable to tear his eyes away.

Thor was silent, seeming to think about whether or not he should say what he wanted to. He didn’t want to upset the other male, but he also wanted to start being completely honest and transparent with Bruce, hoping he would be affronted the same courtesy.

“I know,” he said simply, schooling his face into a nonchalant expression when Bruce turned to face him in surprise.

“You remembered,” he whispered, recalling the one and only time he shared that with Thor. 

_The pair laid together, tangled in the silk sheets Thor was partial to, blissfully sated after their late night activities. The blond plastered himself against Bruce’s back, left arm comfortable under Bruce’s head and the other being held against his lover’s chest as the smaller man played with his fingers._

_They spoke softly to each other, Bruce delighting in the rumbling chest against his back when he made Thor chuckle._

_“Everyone loves_ Starry Night _, but_ Café Terrace at Night _is my all time favorite piece from Van Gogh,” Bruce shared, bringing Thor’s hand up to kiss his knuckles softly._

_Thor hummed, dropping a kiss of his own to the messy hair of his lover._

_“You’re supposed to tell me your favorite piece of art,” Bruce giggled, fully aware of how quickly Thor fell asleep after sex._

_“You’re my favorite piece of art, baby,” the man whispered into Bruce’s ear, sending a shiver up the smaller man’s spine._

Bruce pulled himself out of moments long gone, and averted his eyes from Thor’s knowing gaze.

“Follow me,” he said, turning on his heels and leading them further into his home.

Bruce stayed silent as he trailed behind Thor, taking in all the sights, each room grander than the last. He desperately wanted to go out onto the terrace, as they passed the floor to ceiling glass doors. Even from inside he had such an amazing, unobstructed view of the city he loves so much.

Thor held the door open and motioned him inside the room, his office, Bruce assumes. He glanced at the large mahogany desk scattered with paperwork. His eyes widened slightly at the oversized bookcases lining three of the four walls of the room, filled to the brim with knowledge. Thor rounded his desk, pulling open a drawer as Bruce took a seat in one of the two chairs facing the man. He let his bag rest on his lap, not sure what was so important that the man brought him all the way here.

The business man sat heavily in his plush chair, clutching a tattered looking piece of paper, eyes sad. Bruce watched him, not wanting to say anything until Thor did. The man took a deep breath and then slid the paper over to Bruce.

“Did you write this?” He asked softly, eyes searching Bruce’s face.

Bruce frowned, not sure what could be so pressing about a faded letter. He carefully picked the paper up and read what was written.

_Thor -_

_I have not been honest with you and I want to preface this but saying I’m not sorry._

_I pursued you with only one intention - to take you for every cent you have to your name. My goal was to break up your engagement with Dr. Foster and trick you into marrying me._

_I now realize that all the money in the world isn’t worth spending the rest of my life with you._

_I hate having your hands on my body and I hate having to be intimate with you._

_I’ve already quit my internship and you will not hear from me ever again._

_Do not try to contact me and change my mind, it cannot be done._

_Goodbye,_

_Bruce Banner_

Bruce’s hands began to shake, tears quickly coming to his eyes. He would _never_ have written something so horrible and hateful. 

He is - _was_ \- so terribly in love with Thor and didn’t care if he wasn’t a billionaire business mogul. He loved the way the man touched him and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. Bruce had never felt pleasure and passion as intense as he had with Thor.

Who would _write_ something so terrible in his name?

“I didn’t write this, Thor,” he said, voice tight as he struggled to keep himself from crying, head bowed.

Thor didn’t speak for a long stretch of time and Bruce feared that the man would not believe him, demanding he leave his home at once. Eventually, Bruce looked up into cerulean blue eyes, heartbeat picking up at the sight of the soft smile on the man’s face.

“I believe you,” the man said simply.

Relief flooded Bruce at once and he bit his lip, wanting to ask the man his question but was afraid of his answer. He hoped this letter was the reason Thor had cut him completely out of his life six years ago. Then this all would have been a grave misunderstanding.

“Is- was this letter the reason you didn’t want to see me?” He asked, sounding small and unsure.

Thor frowned at him, confusion clear on his handsome face. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his desk. “What do you mean?”

Bruce cocked his head to the side, confused that _Thor_ seemed to be confused. “The last time I came to your penthouse, Heimdall said you didn’t want to see me anymore. And some other things…”

Realization crossed Thor’s face. “Mr. Stark did mention something about Heimdall. He also said something about hush money?”

Bruce grimaced wishing Tony hadn’t mentioned that part, but nodded. “I came to tell you about my… _condition_ but Heimdall said you wanted to marry Jane and that he’d get a lawyer involved if I came back, then gave me a check and had security kick me out.”

Thor closed his eyes, breathing heavily through his nose. He ran a hand through his hair and then took a few more deep breaths before opening his eyes again, gaze ablaze. “I _never_ wanted to marry Jane, I wanted to marry-“

Thor stopped himself from finishing that thought and averted his gaze, then cleared his throat before moving on. “My father informed me that you gave your resignation and with it _that_ letter.”

“I don’t understand, Thor,” Bruce said desperately, slowly coming to the realization that there was a third party involved in their split. “Why would someone do this?”

“I’m going to find out,” he said, determination and anger clear on his face.

Bruce nodded, perfectly fine with letting Thor track down the horrible individual responsible for all of his unhappiness. His eyes suddenly widened as he remembered something _important._

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Thor,” he said helplessly, head falling down in shame. “I kept Theo from you.”

“His name’s Theo?” Thor said softly, moving from his seat to kneel at Bruce’s feet. He reached out to Bruce, lightly cupping his cheek and bringing his face up.

He used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear and spoke gentle reassurance to the other man. “I don’t blame you, Bruce. You did what you felt you had to.”

“I should’ve insisted on seeing you so I could tell you we were having a _child_ ,” Bruce whispered harshly, self loathing clear in his voice. “It’s my fault you missed out on seeing him grow up.”

“Hey, hey,” Thor said as he wiped more tears from Bruce’s face. “Listen to me, none of this is your fault.”

Bruce did not agree. There were so many moments of Theo’s life Thor would never get to experience. His first smile, first words, first steps, first tooth, first day of school - _how_ could he ever forgive himself for keeping them apart for so long? Bruce’s tears continued to fall and Thor waited patiently, whispering words of encouragement as he caressed the soft skin of his cheek.

A few minutes later, Bruce managed to calm down, Thor wiped the last of the stray tears away from his face. Bruce sniffled and looked over to the father of his child with puffy, red eyes. He managed a small smile. “Would you like to meet your son?”

Thor grinned, happiness exploding in his heart. “More than anything.”

***

Bruce walked down the corridor leading to his apartment, fingers ghosting over his lips; a permanent grin plastered on his face as he replayed the soft goodbye kiss Thor gifted him when the businessman dropped him off at home later that day.

They planned on Thor coming over tomorrow tonight for dinner, giving Bruce a chance to explain the situation to their son.

_Their son_.

Oh, Bruce could just float away on cloud nine, he was so happy.

He put his key into the lock of his front door and let himself in. Immediately little feet padded his way and Theo slammed into him. 

“Daddy, where were you?” His son demanded, used to Bruce being here from the moment Darcy brought home from school.

Bruce hauled his baby into his arms, kicking the door shut and letting his bag drop to the floor. He pecked the boy’s cheek with a few kisses, having missed him greatly. “Daddy’s silly and lost track of time. I’m sorry, monkey.”

Theo nodded and cuddled his daddy, not wanting to be put down just yet, which was fine with Bruce. He walked them into the living room and paused when he saw Tony sitting on his couch.

“I come in peace?” The man said sheepishly, tossing the remote onto the couch and standing up.

“Darcy left a child to babysit another child?” Bruce snipped, no real bite to his words, and raised an eyebrow at his best friend.

Tony grinned and shrugged. “I taught him all kinds of curse words while we waited for you.”

Bruce scowled at his best friend, not sure if the man was joking. He gave his attention back to his son and pulled him back to look at his face.

“Watch some TV while daddy and uncle Tony talk, okay?” He moved to put his son down only for the boy to cling to him and shake his head.

“More kisses first,” he demanded, arms and legs still wrapped around Bruce.

The man smiled softly at his son, happy to comply. He peppered the boy’s face with kisses and raspberries until he got the desired squealed laughter he was aiming for. Only then did the boy allow himself to be placed on the ground and happily scurried off to climb on the couch and watch cartoons.

Bruce jerked his head towards the kitchen, motioning for Tony to follow so they could talk.

“Bruce, I’m _sorry_ ,” Tony started the moment they were out of earshot. “I just saw him and got so damn mad. I didn’t mean to tell him.”

Bruce smiled softly and then stepped up to wrap his arms around his best friend, startling the man who had been fully prepared to grovel and beg for forgiveness.

“Thank you,” Bruce said sincerely, further confusing the man who slowly returned the embrace. When they pulled apart Bruce moved to get a cup of water while Tony took a seat at the island.

“I’m a little lost here,” Tony admitted, scratching his head to further show his confusion.

Bruce snickered and took a long drink of his water before speaking. “I think we’re going to be alright; seems like someone set us up and Thor never wanted to get rid of me.”

“He’s actually going to meet Theo tomorrow tonight.” The man gushed, eyes sparkling with happiness.

Tony blinked in surprise, not sure if he should be the supportive best friend or the overprotective best friend at this moment.

“Why would someone set you up?” He asked slowly, fiddling with the salt shaker on the island.

Bruce shrugged as he finished off his water. “Somehow a letter I never wrote but had my name on it was sent to Thor, claiming that I was only after his money and didn’t want to be with him anymore.”

Tony scoffed, knowing Bruce would be the last person on Earth to do something so terrible. “Okay, when you find out who, I know a guy. He can make it look like an accident.”

“I don’t need you to have anyone killed, Anthony,” Bruce rolled his eyes as he came to sit on the bar stool next to Tony.

Tony snorted and let the topic drop, content now that he knew Bruce wasn’t upset with him for having loose lips.

“Steve’s going to propose.” He revealed, leaning back to get comfortable.

“Did you bully him into it?” Bruce laughed and nudged his friend’s shoulder. “Isn’t it supposed to be a surprise?”

Tony lightly smacked Bruce’s arm and playfully scowled. “I found the ring in his art studio, asshole.”

Bruce snickered and then leaned his head on Tony’s shoulder. “Well, congratulations. You and Steve are perfect for each other.”

“Thanks, buttercup.” Tony said softly and then decided to drop his other news in a nonchalant manner. “I just hope he proposes before I start showing.”

“Hmm.”

Wait, huh?

Bruce’s head shot up and he turned to look at his best friend in shock. “ _You’re pregnant?!”_

_***_

Bruce left his last class of the day with his head already buried in his book to review the needed material for tomorrow's discussion as he crossed campus. The tricky situation leading to the death of the victim requiring him to think carefully to establish his argument for or against causation.

_Apply common-law rules, did B cause A’s death? Explain, focusing solely on the issue of causation, but do_ not _analyze B’s liability for homicide._

Bruce _hmm_ ’d, looking up from his book briefly. His eyes were drawn to the smiling face of Thor, the man leading casually against his Escalade.

He grinned brightly before snapping his book closed and sliding it in his bag, making his way over to the businessman.

“What’re you doing here?” He asked, stopping an arm’s length away.

Thor shrugged and reached out to him, pulling the shorter man into an embrace. Bruce pressed his cheek against Thor’s chest, returning the hug and breathing the man’s cologne in, relaxing against him.

“Let me take you home,” the man said, arms wrapped around Bruce’s shoulders.

Bruce nodded, though making no move to detangle from the father of his child. 

“You have to let me go in order for me to do that,” Thor chuckled, chest rumbling against Bruce’s cheek, making it ten times less likely that Bruce would let him go.

After Thor was able to convince Bruce that he wasn’t going anywhere, the man eventually let him go to climb into the car and immediately cuddled back up to the businessman. The blond did not mind at all, throwing an arm around the shorter man as he gave his driver Bruce’s address.

“What happened to your hands,” Bruce asked quietly, having picked up Thor’s large hand to intertwine their fingers and spotted the bruised knuckles.

Thor didn’t answer right away, watching as Bruce examined the damage done and gently kissed each angry red knuckle. The man’s heart swelled from affection, not sure how he survived without Bruce for so long.

“I met with Heimdall today,” he said shortly, not wanting to give details that he knew would upset Bruce.

“And you hit him?” He asked softly. No judgement, just a question.

“Yes,” Thor said tightly.

“Okay,” Bruce said, knowing Thor wasn’t a violent person and if he hit someone there was good reason.

They fell into a comfortable silence, Bruce occasionally nuzzling into Thor and the man kept his nose buried in brunette strands. 

“Tell me more about our kid,” he said after some time and Bruce happily launched into his favorite subject.

“Theo’s so _smart,”_ he started, always filled with pride when it came to his sweet boy.

***

“Monkey, you don’t have to wear a tie,” Bruce chuckled as he watched his son agonize over what to wear for his first official meeting with Thor.

The boy had been beyond excited to learn that his other father who he’d always been told was _a very important man who’s terribly busy_ when he asked for his whereabouts, was coming over tonight.

Theo had already set aside his four favorite action figures, prepared to introduce them all to his other father. He also brought his two favorite DVD’s and placed them above his action figures that were neatly lined up on his bed.

It was _important_ that his new daddy got familiar with Captain America, Iron Man, The Green Lantern, and Spider-Man. He also was planning on watching _at least_ one of his movies with his new daddy, but he couldn’t decide between The Emperor's New Groove or Tarzan.

The night before his daddy had sat him down and explained that his other daddy didn’t know that he was born, but would have been here from the start if he could’ve been. Theo easily accepted that some grownup things happened and that his daddies ( _he had_ two _now)_ would tell him more when he was a little older. The only question that he had was what he would _call_ his other daddy. He thought it would be confusing to call them both daddy and his daddy ( _see?_ ) told him they would all figure it out together.

As a _family_.

Now Theo had half his wardrobe scattered around his room, unable to choose which shirt to wear to meet his other daddy _for the first time_.

Eventually he yelled for his daddy to come help and regretted it as the man had propped against the doorframe and _chuckled_ at him.

“Daddy, I don’t know what to wear,” he whined, pulling off his Spongebob t-shirt accessorized with a clip-on tie and throwing it on the floor.

His daddy gave him _a look_ and came to kneel in front of him. “You can wear whatever you want, baby. I just want you to be comfortable and happy.”

Theo hugged his dad around his neck, beyond nervous to meet the newest addition to their family. They embraced for a long moment, Bruce rubbing comforting hands up and down his son’s back.

“Do you think he’ll like me?” He whispered, the real problem finally surfacing.

“He’s going to love you just as much as I do, Theo,” his daddy answered confidently and gave him another squeeze before pulling back. “Who’s my favorite boy?”

“Me,” Theo answered with a giggle.

“And that’s never going to change, monkey.” His daddy promised and playfully tweaked his nose. “Now let’s see about finding you something to wear, huh?”

Twenty minutes later Theo’s room had been tidied and he sat on the couch dressed in a pair of jeans and a race car t-shirt. He was just about to ask his daddy (for the sixth time) when his other daddy was gonna be here when the doorbell rang. Theo jumped up from the couch and grabbed his daddy’s hand, impatiently pulling the man to open the door since _he_ wasn’t allowed to.

“Hurry daddy before he leaves,” Theo hissed at his father, increasing his efforts when his daddy just didn’t move fast enough.

“Theodore, calm down,” the man laughed, swatting at his son. He opened the door to reveal an equally nervous Thor.

“Hey, you,” his daddy greeted and leaned to give the blond a light peck on the lips. 

“I’m early,” the man apologized, clutching flowers in one hand and a gift bag in the other.

Bruce ushered Thor inside, surprised his son hadn’t automatically pushed him out of the way to greet Thor himself.

“Now I know I had a kid around here somewhere,” Bruce called out teasingly, his son clearly hiding behind the door.

“Daddy,” Theo whined, too nervous now that the other man was actually here.

Bruce rolled his eyes and pushed the door closed, fully revealing his kid.

“Since when are you shy, monkey?” He asked the boy, reaching over to ruffle the dark strands.

The boy just blushed a little and began fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Bruce glanced at Thor who was looking at the boy in wonder. Bruce decided the excuse himself under the guise of putting the flowers in a vase. He plucked the flowers from Thor’s hands with a soft _thank you_ and snorted when both of his boys shot him _don’t leave me_ looks.

He went to grab a vase from under the kitchen sink and filled it with an appropriate amount of water. He went to work expertly cutting the paper away from the flowers. Bruce brought the bouquet up to his nose and inhaled the soft scent deeply, amazed that Thor also remembered his favorite flowers were Forget Me Nots.

He heard his son’s shy voice ask Thor if he could call him _papa_ and he smiled widely when he heard Thor’s watery voice say _he would be honored_.

When Bruce peeked around the corner his heart swelled at the sight of Theodore hugging his father around the neck tightly as the man kneeled down and returned the embrace just as fiercely.

Bruce sniffed and was determined not to cry. He moved to lean against the refrigerator with a sappy smile on his face.

His little family was now complete; it was about time.

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are my own; let me know what you think in the comments/leave kudos if you feel so inclined!
> 
> Thanks for reading. (:


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